Hope and Dragons
by Flynt Coal
Summary: Dragonslayer Au: Hinata and Komaeda go on a medieval quest to slay a dragon. (KomaHina friendshipish? Rated T for swearing and violence (duh, they're killing monsters what did you expect) Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

One second Hinata was thrust out of the door, the next it slammed behind him. He stared at the sky nervously, as he knew he was to set out on this adventure, but didn't really plan on it being today.

A monstrous dragon had been feasting upon his small village for years, and every time it drew near Hinata's father would grow more and more on edge. Eavesdropping had told him he was going to be sent to slay the beast, but he didn't necessarily think it would be until another few years. Well, he supposed he was wrong.

A handful of gold coins. The thin cloth he wore. A wooden shortsword which had such a large quantity of slivers that it may as well be a blade made out of porcupines. Even now he scowled to hold the thing. It'd likely cause him more injury than anything he swung it at. Yet beyond those few materials, he had nothing else in his possession. Yeah, he sure would survive long.

He rationed that the first step would be to find some adventurers to join him, as going it alone didn't seem like the best idea. There was a tavern across town, and knew if they could be found anywhere, it was there.

/

The building was absolutely desolate save for the barkeep. And on a Saturday afternoon too. This was most unusual. Hinata took a seat.

"Where is everyone?" He pondered while the barkeep passed him a glass of orange juice. There wasn't really much available here that wasn't alcoholic. Not that the owner could care less who drank what, no matter their age, but Hinata wasn't a fan of drinking, and passed at the given option.

"Aye. Out of beer. The carts that bring the barrels here got attacked by some scorps and they refuse to travel the roads until the creatures are cleared out…" He pulled a face, muttering about pathetic lily-livered cart drivers.

Hinata nodded. Nothing makes a tavern clear out like running out of drinks.

The barkeep continued. "I wish I could just get someone to slay those things. I would pay well, too. I would get my useless worker over there to do it but he doesn't want to go alone for whatever reason." He gestured to a frail boy in the corner sweeping the floor, who Hinata hadn't noticed up till now. For a second Hinata made eye contact with the kid, probably the same age as himself, and the boy smiled before returning to his job.

Hinata realized he needed a chance for extra gold, and asked if he could take care of the issue. "Oh, thanks. Take the kid with you if you want. Scorps are dangerous."

Truth be told, Hinata wasn't exactly ecstatic when it came to fighting a group of scorpions nearly half the size of him, but he took the job, and plus, he had a helper. The boy had some strangely fluffy white hair, and a dull green tunic with tears and rips along it. After exchanging greetings he learned his name was Komaeda as well. Didn't seem like a bad guy, for the most part. The pair departed from the tavern, and headed out on the east road.

"So… Komaeda. Have you ever really fought things before?" He inquired, staring at the other's choice of weapon. It was a rather small spear, but seemed fairly lightweight, despite the heavy appearance. The stone point seemed pretty dull as well.

"No, never, really." Hinata stared at his smiling face blankly. How can anyone look so positive when seeking semi-powerful creatures if they have no fighting experience? Hinata at least has been hunting out in the woods before, and the most he had slain would be a baby troll and a couple goblins (With his father's help, honestly), but it was something.

Komaeda noticed his gaze towards his spear. "Ah… a most useless weapon, isn't it? Well, that's only natural. It does belong to me after all."

Just as Hinata was about to ask why that made it useless, he stopped Komaeda and motioned to not make a noise. A faint clicking sound lingered in the air, a sound Hinata knew belonged to the giant scorpions, and creating sound would be the basic equivalent of begging one poison you.

The creatures drew in around a rock, three of them total, and moving towards Hinata slowly. He held his breath and waited for- "Komaeda, DON'T!"

Well, Komaeda definitely wasn't lying when he said he hadn't taken down any wild monsters before. Without noticing that the things were completely on guard, Komaeda lodged his spear at them. It was deflected by the beast's thickly carapaced stinger with little effort. The same scorpion, however, hissed and scurried towards the now disarmed Komaeda, with the others closing in as well.

Hinata sensed the danger, and stepped before Komaeda in defense. He prepared his wooden blade, and waited for it to strike. These beasts were actually pretty small compared to most giant scorpions, and luckily the smaller ones don't attack all at once. Once the stinger reared forward, Hinata parried and knocked it away, while taking the opportunity to crush his foot down on it's head. The scorpion hissed, but slowly fell to the floor. While Komaeda stayed behind, looking kind of amazed, Hinata reared around, pressing down the head of the second not unlike the first. After the first two were covered, the third was a cakewalk.

 _That wasn't so bad._

"That's some technique you have there, Hinata-kun!" He cheered, while Hinata checked to be sure all three were actually slain. "Everyone uses it for these things. You probably should know how to do it…"

Komaeda nodded understandingly. "Of course, I really am trash for not knowing! However, you really don't need to keep me safe. I'm merely a burden!" The statement was followed by a dry, raspy laugh. Hinata looked confused, but shrugged it off. He reckoned that they head back to claim the reward, while keeping a steady eye on the only person he had ever seen who degrades himself with a smile on his face.

 _This guy… I really don't get him at all._

 _/_

 **A/N: Eyyy it's my first multichapter big story (hopefully)! If you've read my stuff before you should know I'm going to fail horribly at this goal but I'm gonna try to avoid fluffy adorable KomaHina shipping in this one. Just a couple of friends killing stuff together. Just like any old friendship should be like. Anyways if there's any issues with the story relating to anything from spelling errors to plot holes feel free to let me know how you feel, I'm open to critiques on this sort of thing. Hope you enjoy! (: -FC**


	2. Chapter 2

Around halfway back, they reached a clearing. It was a large open plain, and the tall grass tickled Hinata's legs, leading to him stopping and itching them every few steps. Aside from calming rustling, the entire setting was quiet and tranquil. That is, until a booming roar echoed across the field. Hinata turned to Komaeda, and it appeared they had both heard it. Hinata paused, attempting to locate the source of the noise. Silence. A rustle of grass in the wind. Their own breathing. Nothing more. The utter soundlessness seemed almost eerie, like something could sprout from the forest and attack at any given moment. Hinata stayed attentive, listening for another sound, while completely wary at the same time. Eventually, one did follow too, a sudden explosion of echoing uproar shattering the fragile wall of both silence and Hinata's courage.

The boy backed up closer to Komaeda, and drew his sword, a second too late. In a flash, something huge, beastly and demonic crashes to the earth with a thunderous slam, raising a cloud of dirt. A flash of red pierced the screen of dust and debris, and weighed heavily on Hinata, who quivered while bringing his lowly sword to his chest. Komaeda backed up, completely petrified, legs shaking, hands trembling towards his spear. As the dirt settled, it was evident that the very dragon Hinata had set out to slay now stood before him, growling mightily, and glistening it's distinctive black and white scales. It was a terrifyingly wondrous sight. Exactly half the monster glowed a bright ivory color, while the other displayed a sinister obsidian shade. No one ever saw the beast this close up before. Well, no one alive today.

It happened that the dragon targeted Hinata first. A volley of thick flames erupted from it's mouth, singeing the edges of his clothes, but he managed to evade the blast of blazing heat. However, a lone tree dwelled directly in his path. Komaeda gasped fearfully, as he could only remain watching while Hinata's instant collision with the tree annihilated the brunette's consciousness, causing him to black out. Now the creature was upon Hinata, preparing to finish him off in a blink of an eye.

In a split-second decision, Komaeda hurled the spear. A second ago he was watching Hinata slam into a tree, the next his only weapon was in the air, guaranteed to be a waste and not kill the beast. But Komaeda knew himself too well, and knew his luck cycle by heart. If his own bad luck brought the beast before them, then only naturally-

The spear landed square in the creature's eye, just as predicted. It looked as though his following good luck had come through. The spear may have been a toothpick to the dragon, but even a toothpick doesn't feel so lovely when it pierces through your eye. It roared in agony, clawing at the injury, probably making it worse. A slash of a thick red scar lay across the black side of it's head, and likely wouldn't heal. Not that komaeda was especially attentive to this, as he was busy scooping up Hinata and briskly making his way towards town, while the dragon, in defeat, flew away frustratedly, acidic deep scarlet escaping it's eye. It was likely they would be safe for now, but knowing Komaeda's luck, there was no telling how long that would last.


	3. Chapter 3

Hinata woke up at the inn, with a concerned expression plastered on a pale face staring down on him. "Komaeda…?" He attempted to lifted his head. " What happened with the-" The brunette flinched and dropped his head again. "Don't move, Hinata-kun! Your head is still hurt." That's right, I hit a tree… or something.

"The dragon flew away, I hit it in the eye with my spear. We're safe." Komaeda seemed to feel as though what happened wasn't important, but rather, how Hinata was. It was just a tree. I'm fine. Why is he so concerned?'

The barkeep made his way towards Hinata, who learned he was lying on a table, and dropped a leather satchel of gold coins next to him. "Aye, there's for a job well done. Sorry to hear about the wrestle with the dragon."

He nodded, slowly lifting himself off the wooden table, and to the floor, despite Komaeda's objections. "I'll be fine, I promise." Hinata laughed carefreely. He lifted the sack of gold. "Let me buy you a new spear."

As if he already knew Komaeda, he expected a flood of protests, and wasn't at all surprised when they came. Without listening he tugged Komaeda's arm and pulled him into the weapons shop.

At the mention of a spear, the shopkeep immediately brought out all he could find. A dozen or so different spears rolled and clattered onto to countertop, each a different size, diameter, type of wood/metal, bearing different points, the list goes on. Hinata checked them closely and evaluated their prices. Maybe the best opinion would be from one who would be actually using the thing. "Which do you like, Ko-"

Komaeda's attention wasn't on spears at all. The brunette spun around and followed his line of sight, which fell on a bow. It was a dusty, dulling grey, but looked generally sturdy. And it was on sale, luckily enough. "Komaeda… were you interested in that bow?" He asked slowly, cocking his head to the side. The other boy turned and shook his head quickly. "It's alright, it's alright… it's not important. I can save up for it. You shouldn't even have to get anything at all for m-"

The coins were on the counter, then the bow was in Hinata's hand. He pulled the wide-eyed boy outside and handed him his weapon. "Comes with ten arrows too. What a deal, huh?" Hinata blinked and frowned when he realized the other boy was still staring blankly in surprise. "You would get this… for trash like me…"

"You're not trash." He stated flatly. It didn't take terribly long for someone like Hinata to get bored of the "Komaeda human garbage" ramble.

"How can I repay you, Hinata-kun?"

"You already did. You saved our asses from the dragon."

"That doesn't coun-"

Hinata stopped. "Komaeda it's a fucking bow. Think nothing of it. Now. Let's get back to that Inn for the night before I have to punch you."

To Hinata's relief, he actually did shut up. It was an empty threat, it came to it, he probably wouldn't have been able to punch him. As he ran back, trying to beat sundown, he smiled. Komaeda wasn't that bad, really.

/

"Let me come with you."

Hinata perked his head up from his packed gear. It was morning, and as soon as the barrels of ale safely arrived, the bar was full of customers again. Few drank this early in the day, but those who did were certainly here.

Komaeda stood over Hinata, bow lurched over his shoulder. He looked more ready to leave than the brunette. To be honest, he was more than glad to have Komaeda join along, as a lonely trip is a shitty trip. Or something along the lines of that. But he would feel guilty, throwing the guy into danger like this, and maybe getting him killed. They've already been through enough chaos with the scorpions and the dragon.

"I understand if you don't want me to come with you. If you're sick of being around me, I don't mind." Oh no. Oh noooo. Hinata groaned. Now he HAD to bring him along. It was mandatory, but disguised as a choice. It remained unclear, however, whether he was actually degrading himself or knew this would work flawlessly. Either way, it resulted in his favor.

"Fine, Komaeda. Let's get going." The white-haired boy lit up like a bonfire. The joyous expression brought some sense of hope to Hinata as well. He gestured to the weapon first, though. "Can you use that thing?"

"Oh, I know archery better than I know how to throw a spear, haha. No worries." Considering he nailed a dragon in the eye with a spear, he must've been an awfully skilled marksman, Hinata thought. Unfortunately, the occurrence was truthfully pure luck. But Hinata didn't know that.

"Let's head out for the next town. I want to see if there's anyone else who can join our group there." Komaeda nodded, and they departed at once. It was a dangerous road. They needed all the help they could get.


	4. Chapter 4

The sun beat down on Hinata, stacking weights of heat and exhaustion onto him. Travelling during an afternoon like this on foot was an ordeal. With each step it felt like his feet were dragging miles of heavy chains along with them. He sweat like a waterfall, to boot. Slowly he eased his head towards his partner.

Komaeda looked like he'd just strolled out of an air conditioned building. The white-haired boy was still full of energy, walking (Nearly skipping, even) carefreely along the road, like no one had told him they'd been hiking for five hours.

He's so thin and fragile… the look of someone who'll complain of sore feet after 10 minutes of walking… but he isn't, even now… dammit… where the hell is he keeping all this energy…

Hinata relaxed a little when signs of a nearby town fazed into sight, just on the horizon. Downhill, too. "There it is, Hinata-kun! Good thing, my feet are beginning to hurt." _Oh, your feel hurt, do they..._

After awhile it was clear that the town, named Harvest Breeze, was ringed in by a large, rapidly flowing river. At first Hinata huffed, wondering if they'd have to tread the perimeter until they found means of crossing, up until he noticed there was a small boat service to ferry visitors to the isle town directly down the road. He grinned briefly, but once they were close enough there appeared to be a small gathered mob around the dock. The pair struggled to listen in on the discussion.

"Where is the boater?" "I demand to know what the holdup is!" "I was supposed to get my sword repaired in Harvest Breeze ages ago!" What was probably the boater's apprentice shook his hands at the mob, quietly trying to calm them down and insisting that he hadn't the faintest clue either.

"Looks like the man in charge of transporting the boats is missing… and has been for awhile." Komaeda observed. It didn't look like anyone was getting into town anytime soon. Hinata sighed heavily, and looked around. The sun was descending. The air was cooling. They needed somewhere to stay. And Harvest Breeze wasn't looking possible.

"Where are we gonna sleep?" Komaeda spun around the area, stopping in the direction of a couple trees with large, sturdy branches, and smiled. "Hinata-kun, have you ever slept in a tree before?"

Had he ever slept in a tree before? No. Will he look forward to ever sleeping in a tree again? HELL no. Hinata woke up with a charming all-inclusive complimentary package of pain, featuring a stinging headache, sore limbs, and an aching back. He grunted uncomfortably as he shifted himself to the side, rubbing his eyes and seeing the white-haired boy already up and at it. He sat calmly on a rock, watching the crowd wake up and slowly gather once more at the docks. What struck his interest was that he was nibbling on something. Driven by hunger, he pulled himself out of the tree and towards the other.

"Good morning, Hinata-kun!" He chirped kindly. "I see you had a… erm, probably a rough night." Hinata ruffled his hazelnut clump of messy spiky hair, praying it didn't look like he had climbed out of a sewer. Or a tree. "What are you eating?" He looked to what the other was munching on, with a hopeful look.

"Grass." Komaeda grinned.

"Grass?" Hinata asked quizzically.

"Grass." Komaeda shrugged, showing off the grass roots in his palm.

"...Grass…." Hinata scowled at the "meal".

"I think when we get into Harvest Breeze we should consider getting actual traveling food, Hinata-kun." He mumbled. Hinata-kun couldn't have agreed more. His empty stomach ached and gurgled, but grass just wasn't going to cut it. "Of course, for you, I mean. You don't need to do anything for me. I can live off grass if needed!" Komaeda added, chuckling a little. The brunette was more than aware that the other boy was just as hungry, if not more, and he was not going to let him eat grass like goddamn cattle. They were both going to eat a decent meal, whether Komaeda complied or not.

The situation on crossing the river hadn't changed. Eventually the point was driven across that the visitors just needed to suck it up and wait already. Komaeda, however was unconvinced, and approached the apprentice directly.

"Can you tell me where the boater is?" He gazed deeply at the anxious apprentice, almost intimidatingly. Komaeda's stare didn't waver at all, and all focus was directed at him, almost hypnotizingly. "I ask because if he's in danger, we can go check." The apprentice looked like a nervous wreck. He shook and looked around, while Komaeda didn't budge an inch, remaining serene and calm.

Apparently this relaxed focus seemed to do the trick. "He… he owns a mine, just down the road. He heard news that a tribe of goblins have taken over the cave, and ran into it full of rage… w-when he didn't return, I, uh, well, a mage offered to go look for him, and…. they… haven't come back either." Komaeda nodded, and stood up, satisfied with the information.

"Are you really going to go in there…? It's not safe… wh-what if he-" The white-haired boy looked behind his shoulder back to the apprentice. "Are you really just going to sit here and worry? Is that truly the extent of your hope? Awfully pathetic, if you ask me." A look of puzzlement was the reply. "I expect to see a more optimistic expression when we return, okay?" He turned to the apprentice. Still puzzled. But Komaeda took that as an acceptable reply, regardless. Hinata scooped up his old, splintery blade. It looked like a quest was in action.


	5. Chapter 5

The mine was in shambles. Rotting wood here, collapsing rock there. Only the sheer mercy of the universe seemed to keep it all in balance. Komaeda poked the wooden poles tentatively, testing them with caution, but to avoid risk Hinata dragged him away and urged him not to touch anything.

Various strings lined with multicolored stones hung gently swung across the entrance, clattering in the breeze, and a collection of skulls decorated the rocky ledges. These were a sure sign of goblins if Hinata ever saw one.

"You ready?" He eyed the other boy, who lifted and readied the new bow. He certainly seemed glad that he had the weapon, and Hinata was pleased that he liked it. It was pretty expensive. Truth be told if Komaeda did get a cheap spear instead, they could have gotten Hinata a new, much needed sword as well. But if the other was happier this way, and better skilled with a bow, he was fine with it. It wasn't like he couldn't use the sword he had.

"Yeah. Let's go, then!" The two prepared their weapons, and courage, then raided the cave.

Hinata grimaced. Maybe getting a lantern beforehand would have been a smart idea.

The interior was entirely blacked out by shadows. It could have been tiny, dusty cavern full of cobwebs. It could have been a huge, breathtaking tunnel with towering ledges and perilous heights. There could have been terrifying creatures of darkness stalking them and growling behind them. There was no real way of telling. However, the former would have been a safe bet; if you expected anything extravagant you'd probably be greatly disappointed.

Hinata couldn't see his own hand in front of his face, or rather, the cave walls slamming into his face. He grumbled as he moved away from the edge responsible for his third collision (so far), following the sound of Komaeda's laughter. The white-haired boy couldn't use his hands to feel his way around the cavern, since he was holding the bow, so how was he able to avoid the walls so well?

Eventually Hinata gave up and took Komaeda's hand, so to avoid any further crashes. It was... a little awkward, but nonetheless it did help. As they rounded a particularly tiny corner, Komaeda gasped a little. Hinata perked his head up (not without hitting his forehead on the roof, naturally) and strained to see what Komaeda was looking at.

The cave split into a huge clearing, obviously the main part of the mine, that was made visible by a few lanterns, but mostly by the piles of gleaming, glowing gems embedded in the earth.

Shining topaz... it was littered everywhere. The copper colored mineral emitted it's own light, and possessed admirable magic amplifying power. Mines like these drawn mage bandits and goblins in like flies to a corpse.

Hinata had seen some before, but never this much. A scene like this was awfully beautiful, and looked like a wide, amazing night sky plotted with stars here and there. But it wasn't a safe area. Movement and sound told the pair what they needed to know. A scuffling to the far right. A loud, echoing belch about twenty feet ahead. There were goblins here. Many.

Komaeda snatched a lantern off the wall and hitched it to his tunic. Having a light source was risky and drew attention, but they needed to see some way or another.

Immediately something snarled. As Hinata looked to the sound's direction, the other let out a cry of warning, but in an instant too late. A short creature slammed onto Hinata's back, knocking him to the ground and winding him. As small as the goblin was, it weighed more than it looked. The thing had the color and smell of sewage. It gargled and cried as the brunette flailed and flipped over, but regained itself, and hopped onto his chest, still frisky and furious. It's taloned feet dug through his tunic without much resistance. When it lifted it's stone axe high above Hinata's head, he flinched, bracing for-

A sharp wail sliced through the murky cave air. The floored boy opened an eye slowly. Something that shined protruded from the goblin, which had stopped moving and collapsed. Was it a blade? No... an arrow.

"Thanks... although you could have done that sooner..." Komaeda shrugged, and retrieved the arrow. "And that almost went through the goblin and hit me too." He paused. "But, thanks, I appreciate it." He didn't really want to complain, or Komaeda might think twice about saving him next time.

They continued down the tunnel, able to fend against the few goblins who did attack. There was a good twenty-thirty of the creatures, and no way they could take them all down. Perhaps they couldn't succeed in getting rid of all of them, but that wasn't why they were here. They had a mage and a boat driver to save.

And by god he was still fucking hungry.

The pair snuck along a clear path surprisingly well, less stealthily than clumsily and lucky. Eventually they reached the other side, following the lazy dull glow of the magical topaz.

The tunnel got thinner and led to a room in the back. The two of them observed the area, able to identify a table, mining equipment, more skulls, and a couple large cages made solely from bone. Even if goblin bone was extremely sturdy and tremendously difficult to break, it kind of disturbed Hinata that they used the bones of their own kind for practical reasons. But it was a different culture, after all.

A goblin shaman was the only one in the room, cursing the cages or something. It growled and scraped carvings into them, but everyone knows goblin curses don't work. It was probably a ceremonial thing.

The shaman sure was enthusiastic. Rattling the topaz pendant it wore, it shouted and spat at the cage inhabitants. Through a crack, a dull face was visible amongst the glazed light. There was definitely people in there. And probably the people they came for, too. If they could just shift in the right place, at the right moment Hinata could easily take his sword, prepare himself to spring forward, and-

One of the cages exploded.

One of the cages FUCKING EXPLODED.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT-!

The instantaneous crash of flames propelled Komaeda, Hinata and the shaman backwards, lighting up the room and igniting various hunks of wood. Bits of charred bone, rocks and dirt flew in all directions from the fiery blast in a flash. Hinata stumbled and fell backwards, blocking the flying, flaming debris with his arm.

The shaman cried out, yelping at the escaped prisoners. When one of them quivered in the corner and the other shot a fireball at the screeching goblin, it was evident which was the mage. 

The shaman was slain. Goblins are weak to flame, after all. Hinata stood up. Probably a bad idea.

Noticing the silhouette, the mage released another orb of flame in an instant, as if by instinct. Hinata gasped and rolled out of the wall, narrowly dodging the blazing magic, feeling the heat of it pass by his neck. He sighed.

"Oh… sorry about that. I thought you were a goblin… I think." The magic user shrugged, lifting the other captive out of the shattered, burnt cage. Komaeda smiled at the man. "Ah! you must be the ferry driver. We came to rescue you."

"That's what I came for. And I was doing fine." The mage huffed. They may have got caught, but they did just blow up the cage.

"In any case, can you return to the dock? We and a lot of others really need to get to-"

"No! I came here to drive the goblins out of my mine, and I intend to do just that." he growled stubbornly. "And you planned to do so with that?" Hinata nodded to the man's hand, which hosted a rusty, broken shortsword.

"Yes…" His tone said that he admitted it wasn't a well thought out plan. "Well, Hinata-kun, looks like we'll have to help out with them, huh…"

Hinata nodded. It seemed more or less decided upon. The four set out for the main part of the cave again.


	6. Chapter 6

The cavern was alive with the echoing noises of slashing, shooting and the burst of fire, not to mention the wailing of falling goblins. The mage was awfully experienced, and the task was made much easier with their assistance compared to when Komaeda and Hinata had entered.

it wasn't very long when all the goblins had been cleared. Komaeda knelt by the fallen creatures, and seemed to be gathering loot.

"Whatcha finding?"

"Goblin bones!"

Hinata frowned. "Goblin bones? You're just ripping them out? Eww…"

"Goblin bones are extremely sturdy and difficult to break. A merchant pays well for these, Hinata-kun."

Gross as it was, he couldn't argue. They needed funds. They had to find food, an inn, and a new sword, and whatever change they had left wouldn't likely supply any of those.

When Komaeda was satisfied with the haul, the group exited the cave, proud of their accomplishment.

"I can actually see now!" Hinata laughed, turning to Komaeda, who smiled. "Hinata-kun! You're covered in bruises!" He gasped, genuinely concerned. "Ahh… I bumped into the cave walls a lot on the way in, I guess." he shrugged in response. Now that he could finally see the rest of the group, Hinata turned to them. The ferry driver also had his fair share of bruises too. He did charge into the cave alone. Hinata turned to the mage.

"Wait… you're a girl?" He blurted out by accident. Komaeda stared at him and giggled until he realized what he'd said. The mage glared with puffy cheeks. He supposed she sounded feminine enough. It was hard to tell in the pitch-black cave, okay?

"It's fine, it was dark in there… I think." She mumbled, as if she wasn't fully paying attention to the conversation, or anything really, and yet also knew exactly what was happening at the same time. If that's even possible, it was definitely occurring here.

He was honestly just glad she wasn't offended. She was actually kinda pretty, with a long, blue robe with fire patterns and dull, pinkish hair that ended in curls. She seemed pretty forgiving, as well. Maybe she'd forget that.

Oh well. The job was done. Hinata and Komaeda even received partial payment for rescue as well, even if it wasn't as much. The main reward was the fact that they could now make it to town.

/

The city glowed a brilliant orange, as the waning sunlight painted the white stone walls of every building tangerine. The sun was setting. "Were we really in there all day..." Hinata muttered, mostly to himself. Komaeda hummed in response absentmindedly while they wandered through the bustling town. It was a large place, larger than the village both of them had lived in, but Hinata had been here before.

Holy flying shit was he starving. He was hungry before he burnt all his remaining energy slaying goblins, and now he was pushing his limits just walking. He wanted food and he wanted food now.

A bakery caught him like a steel cage. He yanked Komaeda's arm, and pulled him into the shop, which overflowed with a fresh aroma of well-prepared, just out of the oven bread. He sniffed a loaf and drooled blissfully. "Hinata-kun, we need to get money first." The white-haired boy objected slowly. The food hypnotized him too, but he knew they couldn't have it yet.

Komaeda tugged the brunette's arm gently, easing him out the door. "We'll come back, okay?" Hinata frowned, and looked almost heartbroken. "I'm so hungry…"

"Right back, I swear!" He pulled Hinata forward. "C'mon, you can walk!" Hinata sort of stood there, without any effort at all. "Fill stomach with food to operate." He grumbled, "I don't have the energy to move." Komaeda sighed, and ended up virtually dragging him.

Dull grey-white bones of all shapes clattered on the counter. "How much can we get for these goblin bones?" Komaeda inquired, looking hopefully to the general store owner, who collected the bones and looked at them closely. "They are in fair shape…" he turned, "Is...something wrong with your friend there?" Komaeda spun and blinked. Hinata had collapsed on the floor.

"He'll be fine." he reassured him. The store owner blinked and turned back to the bones. "I can offer a fair amount of gold, I suppose." A bag of coins clanked down. Komaeda happily scooped up the bag and counted the glittering bits. "Perfect… thank you!" He grinned before leaving the store.

Hinata woke up to the smell of fresh fruit and sweet bread. Oh, more scents to tempt him. Wonderful. He planned to open his eyes. He planned to see beautiful, delicious treats behind a counter, barring him from ever hoping to reach them.

What he actually saw was him propped up on a bench, with a plate of food greeting him. Komaeda was behind it, munching away on his own platter, grinning his usual grin between bites when he noticed that he was awake. "Eat up, Hinata-kun!" Hinata-kun ate up like he'd never see food again. It was incredibly tasty, but then again he hadn't touched food in days. Slowly he felt his strength return to him.

"Thnmk yrrm, Krmrndrm…" He grumbled. Komaeda blinked. "What…?"

He probably shouldn't talk with food in his mouth. "I said thank you!"

"Oh! No need to thank me! It's both of our money, after all." Komaeda responded, picking up a small fruit.

"We wouldn't have this if you didn't loot the goblins. Plus, I passed out back there too." Hinata pointed out. The other boy leaned his head backwards. "I suppose that's true… haha. But it really wasn't much. Anyone could have thought of that."

Hinata hummed boredly in response. It didn't matter to him. "How much have we got left?"

Komaeda tossed the pouch at him. "See for yourself." He opened it slowly, and his eyes widened.

"Whoa... we have all this?" Komaeda grinned. "Yes... I was think that we could head to the local smith and find you a better blade, if you're okay with it."

He was more than okay with it. The idea thrilled him! Finally, a decent weapon! Once both of them finished their meal, the pair began searching for the building immediately.

It wasn't too hard. Smiths stand out more or less. A bearded man tended a huge pit of flames and ash, and Hinata approached him eagerly.

There wasn't much in the store, to be honest. In fact, there seemed to be very little. Too little.

"Your shop is kinda... empty." Hinata commented, slightly bothered. He kinda hoped there would be a bit of a broader selection. Only a few cheap wooden sword or dull iron sat on the displays.

"Mmm, yes. I've been selling out a lot recently. Swords are high in demand, it appears."

"But why?" That was... strange. Was there some sort of fight going on around here?

"Someone marched into town and set up posters offering a large pay to anyone willing to join them on some quest. Mercenaries, if you will. I tell you, they must be new to the whole sword for hire thing, they set such a high payment that half the town bought a blade and headed out there."

Hinata blinked with shock. "Really? That many people?"

The smith nodded with interest. "If I were younger I'd head out there myself. Maybe you two'll consider it?"

"I'm not sure…"Hinata frowned, thinking it over. For a price so high that that many people chased after it, there was sure to be a catch, right?

The smith lugged a blade from a bucket of water where it was cooling from the forge. Unlike the other dilapidated weapons scattered amongst the store, which although were probably an upgrade from Hinata's current pointy stick of a sword were not really what he had in mind, this iron blade gleamed in the fire's warm glow, giving a presence of might and protection. In short, this blade was what he had in mind.

The weapon luckily seemed to have very recently completed in it's process of being constructed. The shopkeep caught Hinata's line of sight, and so did Komaeda.

"Ah, this blade's a real beauty, huh? Fresh from the forge, of course. If you want it, it's for sale, startin' now. Heheh." It clattered down onto the table, and Hinata approached it. The cleanest steel he'd seen, honestly. He could even see his reflection in it. And it appeared sharp too, if a little heavy. Therefore, he decided on it, and felt confident in his choice.

Until prices came up.

"Wait… you want how much?!" The brunette's eyes widened in shock. Komaeda looked a little startled too.

"It's not an uncommon price for a freshly picked blade, m'boy." The smith reasoned, undoubtedly in less of a pleased mood, mostly because it was clear that he wasn't getting a sale this time around. Any other customer he could bargain with until they reluctantly coughed up the coin, but it was clear these kids were lacking aforementioned coin.

Hinata sighed in frustration. They didn't even come close to the cost. How would he know weapons cost so much? Komaeda's bow came a lot cheaper since the town prior was significantly smaller and there was a lot less demand for a quick weapon. There was never much to fight or fight for in his hometown, which is why a huge chunk of the citizens there were farmers.

"Hinata-kun, we can always come back, right?" Komaeda offered support. "Well, how much for one of those?" He gestured to the low-quality blades. They had a fair bit of dents here and there, and didn't sparkle with esteemed sharpness quite like the first sword. In fact, they almost looked like they were stone. Hinata huffed. It would have to do.

Now this was a lot more close to their price range. Hinata picked up one that seemed a little sharper than the others, despite having a smoothish side on the left, and purchased it. It felt cold. Komaeda thanked the shopkeep and the two exited the building, with Hinata looking back at the newly crafted blade that called to him.

Komaeda had more important things on his mind. "Which inn do you think is the cheapest around here?"

Hinata perked up. "Uhh… I came here once before with my dad, and we had to stay at this place overnight… it cost a bare handful of coins. I think I can find it again, if you're looking to stay there. It's a real musty place though."

"Well I can put up with it, but what does Hinata-kun want?"

Hinata sighed tiredly. "Hinata-kun just wants a place to crash in general."

Komaeda shrugged. "I suppose that'll be our place, then. We can rest in better conditions later on. Just lead the way, Hinata-kun."

"It's gotta be better than sleeping in a tree…"

The building was so shady it looked intentional. The boards making up the walls of the second floor had holes in them where dark faces looked out here and there, which scattered away like spiders when looked at.

Komaeda didn't even comment, and just strolled right in. Hinata could've sworn it wasn't this bad, though…

Hinata paid for a room as fast as he could, without making eye contact with anyone seated in the main part of the building, and quickly scrambled up the stairs, pulling Komaeda along with him as he went.

/

The room was…

well, it was a room, Hinata supposed. It was closed off, and two cots sat in opposite corners, simply enough, with one lit candle.

Komaeda picked a cot and happily climbed onto it, so easily and simply as if he had lived his whole life in a place like this.

As Hinata climbed into his own (Which was so itchy it was impressive), he realized he didn't really know anything about Komaeda's origin. Although he was working for extra coins at the tavern in Hinata's hometown, he had never seen the boy before. In fact, Komaeda seemed surprisingly eager to come with him on his adventure. That probably meant he was an adventurer or wanderer himself.

But all he had was a spear, and also had no fighting experience. So where did the guy come from, anyways?

Hinata peeked to the other side of the room, and Komaeda looked like he was already asleep. Was he really that tired? He didn't show his tiredness very much while awake. But there was no point in asking anything while he was asleep.

It wasn't as if he minded the guy at all. In fact, he was pretty cool to have around. A lot less lonely. What was it again? A lonely trip is a shitty trip. Right.

But he was still so confusing, Hinata thought, as he himself began drifting into sleep. And Hinata only found himself wanting to learn more.


	7. Chapter 7

Hinata slowly blinked as light from a crack in the wall seeped in. Sheesh, the walls were made of terrible wood, but what did he expect? The pennies they dropped on the counter last night definitely weren't meant to give quality to their sleep. Hinata wondered if there really was much difference between these sleeping conditions and the tree. He sigh, and shifted to get up.

Komaeda was sitting on the floor, already awake, with his attention on something. Hinata peered over, and saw yet another pile of grass he was nibbling on. He sighed. "Are we really that poor again…"

Komaeda shuffled through the pouch in response. "Good morning, Hinata-kun. Well it looks like we have enough for breakfast, but I wouldn't want our money supply wasted on me, of all people. There is definitely a better use for it that feeding me!" He laughed. Hinata breathed a slow sigh. First thing in the morning and this was already starting.

The white haired boy shuffled through a satchel, and pointed a piece of paper towards the other, who promptly took it. "I found one of the posters the smith was talking about. Check it out, that reward is higher than I imagined."

Hinata was impressed, and agreed. Surely he couldn't let this offer down, right? It had to be worth it somehow. He looked over the rest of the sheet for details on the mission.

 _"Attention sellswords and adventurers everywhere!"_ The poster's words boomed as Hinata read it, _"Are you looking for a thrilling mission? Excitement? Come join an exciting party to venture into the damproot forest, and seek valuable treasure! For this quest, you will receive XX for each hour of exploring! Just come gather down at XX day of XX month! Your riches await!"_

"Whoa, why are they offering so much? That's a ridiculous amount of money!" Hinata looked startled, as he made sure he read the paper correctly. Komaeda shrugged. "There apparently isn't a limit to how many people can join, which is also weird considering how so many people are joining. It's a little suspicious, but you can't argue with that offer." Hinata concurred. They couldn't just let this slip away.

"Let's grab some breakfas- *both of us*, and then head out, okay?" Hinata offered. "Oh it's fine, it would be a waste of money if-" Hinata grabbed the other boy's shoulder, and pulled him out of the room. They thanked the innkeep, and grabbed some cheap fruits at a food stall.

"Oh! Hinata-kun! There's a sale at the potion shop, maybe we should stop there!" Komaeda pointed at a rustic shop boasting crudely painted signs offering a sale.

"Potions?" Hinata had never had a potion shop in his hometown. This was entirely new territory for him, as he had never had one before.

"Yeah, it would be a good idea to grab a few health potions in case we get in any danger while fighting." Komaeda spoke casually. Hinata was amazed at the fact that a liquid could stitch up small wounds in a flash. He had heard of potion's effects before, but never experienced one. However, he was curious, so he complied and they both entered the potion shop.

An old alchemist greeted them, who was currently mushing some green slimy stuff into a bowl with some sort of flowers, and a purple viscous fluid. Hinata could only wonder what it could be, but it smelled rancid. Can mixtures of such gross things really have effects like this? Komaeda was immediately drawn to small red vials on a shelf. Hinata frowned with slight disgust. They looked like blood.

"We'd like to take 4 health vials, please." Komaeda knew what he was talking about, even if Hinata didn't. The alchemist gathered up the small handful of gold, and the pair left. Hinata was a little disappointed, he wanted to look around a little still at the bizarre mixtures. But they were low on time, and needed to get to the forest by noon, as that is when the adventurer gathering was scheduled, according to the poster. He shrugged, they could always come back later. There were so many vials of stuff he wanted to try.

They raced across the snake-like bends and corners of the town to the outer area, and across a bridge on the opposite side from where they came from, where the pair approached the forest they were looking for. Blade and bow ready, health vials set, they were fully prepped for this quest.

A strange -looking man in light blue robes stood before a huge crowd. Sheesh, there was a lot more people than Hinata had expected. Was he really going to pay each one of them the offered sum?

Komaeda led them into the bungled blob of people, bearing anything from the most exotic strong armor and arms Hinata had seen, from peasants in rags holding a dull stone hammer. The man in front looked beyond the pair, concluding that no one else was coming, and looked down to address the crowd. Hinata supposed from his light garbs that he was a mage of sorts. Due to their disdain at wearing heavy armor, it's not at all rare for magic-users to hire sellswords.

"Greetings, all those who took up my grand offer of riches, I'm so glad to see each and every one of you attend my party. A huge pile of gold awaits all of you equally. Your quest is only to follow me, attack what I tell you to attack, and go where I tell you to go. Nothing you can't handle as a bunch of strong-armed warriors, I hope. We'll come back here afterwards, and you'll all receive the gold you worked for. All clear?"

He was responded by a wave of nods, cheers and even battle roars. Hinata felt like he didn't truly belong in this group, as so many people seemed much stronger than he. But he didn't feel alone, as he smiled, knowing his white haired partner was here, and frankly, was just as confused as he was.

"Oh! Hinata-kun, look!" As the group began to form and move, a single person was brought into view who Komaeda was jutting his finger towards. Hinata recognized the mage as the same one from the goblin-filled cave. The approached her, and tapped her on the shoulder.

She was suddenly startled, and spun around sharply. A hand was thrust into his face, and fire weaved and flowed gracefully between the fingers. Hinata cringed in shock, until the mage called off her magic and greeted the two.

"Hrm, sorry… you surprised me… I think." She wondered idly in an airy tone. Did she suddenly get sleepy…? Wasn't she just in full defense mode a second ago. Weird. Hinata relaxed, no longer in seeming danger.

Komaeda appeared to have no regard for Hinata potentially getting roasted a second ago. "Ah, I see you too came for the bounty?" The pyro mage nodded. "...It's really had to turn down a reward like that…" She yawned. "Kind of neat to see you two again though…" She nodded off, and closed her eyes? Hinata looked shocked. Did she just fall asleep? Was she sleep walking.

"Uh… Ms Pyro mage…? He tried. She opened one eye. " I wasn't asleep…"

Sure you weren't…

"Speaking of which, if the three of us are going to work together here, we should get to know each other's names. Hinata tilted his head to the side. Since when did we decide on working as a group…? Oh well, I have no objections. And it looks like she doesn't mind either.

I'm Komaeda, and this is Hinata-kun! He's kind of the leader of the two of us, so if you don't mind…"

"Yeah… it's alright, he can lead us three… maybe…" She gazed lazily at them, in a bit of a daze. How did this girl not fall asleep where she stands, Hinata could never know. "So… you can call me… Nanami, I guess…"

"A nice name, Nanami!" Komaeda smiled politely. "So you're a pyromancer, right?"

"Yeah, that's right… I think… " At first it seemed like she didn't actually know these things for a fact, but Hinata started to think ending a sentence like that was just how she was. It would be nice if she was a little more… concrete with what she said, though.

Nanami summoned a small ring of flame that danced around her fingers and wrist, then waved it out. She had impressive control over fire, Hinata admitted. She would make a powerful ally for the pair.

"What are you two doing out here, anyways…" She inquired, in a sleepy manner as usual. Hinata got used to this fast.

"We're on a quest, to slay a dragon." Hinata grinned, since the quest was pretty impressive.

She had a killer poker face. Hinata could barely tell if she impressed or otherwise. "... that sounds heroic."

Hinata stepped over a big rock he almost tripped over during the walk. She talked so quietly too, it was hard to hear over the noisy chatter all around them, and the clatter of weapons and armor as many warriors walked on through the woods behind the leader. Her pink threads of hair bounced ever so slightly with every step.

"And what about you, Nanami?"

"Oh…" She paused, staring blankly at Hinata with unreadable blank pale fuchsia eyes. "... I don't really know."

Hinata gave a confused look. "You… don't know what you're doing out here?"

"...not really."

Komaeda chimed in. "Oh, so you're sort of a wanderer, huh?"

She tilted her head slowly. "... that sounds about right… maybe…"

At that moment, a huge beast leapt from the bushes directly beside the trio. It roared a powerful, bestial call that shook the damp leaves suspended above the group on their branches. Several warriors backed up in shock, and drew their weapons. "A troll.." Nanami spoke slowly. Between her palms appeared an orb of red energy, and Hinata watched as the ball ignited into a roaring flame, then flew up in the air, coiled back and slammed into the beast from behind. Nanami caught herself from the recoil of the spell. While the beast cried from the surprise of the fiery blow, Hinata closed in while it was distracted, along with several other melee-equipped fighters.

Komaeda loaded his bow swiftly, and aimed with skill at a massive claw aimed to crash down at his teammate, currently swiping the new blade at the beast's legs. Hinata glanced up to see the claw tumbling towards him, only to be struck with a white arrow, and blood dripped down on him while the beast flailed its arm in pain. Nanami fired another spell, this one resembling a flaming whip, which lashed the beast and set it aflame. It roared in agony. Surely attacking this massive mob of fighters wasn't one of it's better ideas. Blades surrounded it, and arrows, spears and throwing knives pierced it left and right. The beast was overtaken, and crumbled to the forest floor, defeated. Hinata cheered, they did it!

"Good thing it was only a pigmy…" Nanami peered at the beast's body as adventurers drew in and looted it.

"Wha…? These things are supposed to be bigger normally?" Hinata shivered. He wouldn't want to face one of these alone.

With the threat gone, the leader once again made his way down the road, and everyone else followed. Hinata was kind of confused as of why the leader didn't want a hand in the spoils, but he supposed he was just being extra generous, handing it to the sellswords. They pressed on, however. The sky seemed to darken, but Hinata realized it was because the foliage was getting thicker as they traversed on. Where was their goal, anyways? If he wasn't looking to have them hunt beasts and reap the spoils, or help him travel somewhere as they weren't coming back, what was the point of coming out here?

Just then, the leader turned in direction, directly away from the path. The fighters looked around in confusion as of why he was just going off into the woods. He stopped and turned around. "Well? Come on now, all of you, I told you to follow did I not?" Well, he did. So everyone shrugged and followed. Maybe he was going to some sort of abandoned ruin or something.

The rest of the walk wasn't much. Just a lot of downhill tumbling, and talking to Nanami and Komaeda. They came across only a few small boars and a scorp, but nothing they couldn't handle. What could they possibly be facing up ahead that required all of them?

It's well known the best way to make money as a mercenary is to do as told and don't ask questions, but Hinata couldn't help but wonder.

"Forest sure is getting thick around here, huh, Hinata-kun?" Komaeda was right, it was only getting darker as they went on. the lush amount of leaves overhead worked overtime in blocking out sunlight. Nanami snapped a flame from her magic, and lit up the way for the three. Hinata was grateful, for if she didn't do that he'd probably have tripped over several logs and rocks by now.

That was another thing, the ground was getting more lush too as they went on. It was unlikely many people, if anyone, had gone through this area. Were they lost?

"Look…" Nanami pointed out ahead, a clearing in the leaves, where sunlight broke through again. The clearing seemed to be where they were headed for. As they approached it appeared the clearing was a large pond, circled by a rocky ring, and this path was the only entrance to the ring.

"This is our destination, everyone." The crowd looked confused, eager to hear an explanation as of why they were there.

"Alright, everyone. If you look in this pond area surrounded by tall rocks, you may notice the water isn't very deep you can walk in it, and it won't go higher than your boots. Now you may notice something shiny in the center of the pool, but I suspect there might be danger. I want everyone to go in there, and retrieve the item in the center. Then we'll head back!"

Wow, it must of been a hell of a treasure for all this effort, and all these mercenaries. As prompted, the group all crowded into the rock ring, and did in fact notice the leader was right, they could easily walk in this water, save for a darker, deeper area in the back.

Everyone crowded around the shining object embedded in the water, and watched as Nanami picked it up. it just seemed to be a glowing rock. "Is it a rare gem?" Hinata offered.

Nanami went pale. "No… this isn't rare at all." Hinata looked puzzled. Nanami looked towards the entrance, the only entrance, where the leader was standing poised.

"This is just a beacon rock. It's meant to get someone's attention. Our attention."

Hinata slowly put the pieces together. "So that means…"

"It's a trap."


	8. Chapter 8

In a flash, the leader burst into action, and revealed a long staff from his robes, and struck the ground around the entrance with a wave of magic. Stones rose up swiftly around the only gateway rendering all inside trapped. A Terramancer, of course… But they could beat him with ease right? There were so many of them.

The terramancer did not enter the rock dome. It became clear he wasn't what they were up against. He was just here to reap the spoils. No wonder he didn't need to select his own rewards from the monsters they fought before coming here, he planned to pick the very same collected valuables off here after the warriors were slain. Hinata sighed. He knew this wasn't a good idea from the start.

The water in the deeper trenched areas stirred and simmered. Something was coming, and the group was entirely ready for it. They weren't going down this easily.

A slick, filmy serpentine head broke the water's surface, and boy was it huge. It's pale yellow eyes blinked while it stirred, before tearing the bitter silence to shreds with an all-consuming roar barreling deep from it's belly. A tin fin made it's way down it's long dark grey neck, connecting to a reptilian torso that was lugged out of the warm water onto the shallower area of the pond by hulking clawed legs. It appeared similar to a aquatic brontosaurus, and a starved one at that.

Everyone sprung into action. Battle cries rang in the air, challenging the waterborne creature's own roars. It's slimy reptilian flesh certainly was going to prove a challenge to break through, but what other choice did they have but to fight?

Hinata gripped his dull blade, gathered whatever courage dwelled within him, and charged full speed. Komaeda frantically ran to put distance between himself and the colossal monster, figeting and scrambling to load his bow. Warriors by the dozens were simply crushed by four massive legs, swiped and sent flying against the stone walls surrounding the battlefield, or whisked away by a towering swish of a tail. This water creature was huge! Hinata had to stay alert to avoid all its enormous limbs' attacks.

The creature bellowed in seething anger as it's skin was broken by blade, by all the successful fighters. As for the unsuccessful ones, hunks of flesh already floated in the shallow pool, turning sections of the water an unsettling crimson. Hinata shuddered.

Nanami was mostly rendered useless herself, her fire magic barely able to even scrape a water-dwelling beast that's already soaked. However, she was able to conjure several explosions that knocked the beast to the side, throwing it off guard and enabling the melee fighters below to obtain extra chances at shots. An array of archers and other ranged-weapon users, including Komaeda, lined the outside of the battlefield, weapons ready and firing regularly and easily. The arrows broke skin slightly, and caused the beast to bleed, but didn't reach far deep into it's flesh, so only resulted in minimal damage to the monstrosity. The same applied to all swings and blows with melee weapons. Could they slay this thing?

Their population dwindled and dropped regularly as more and more of them were crushed, drowned or smashed into stone. Despite minor punctures of arrows and blades, the creature was barely hurt. More swamp green blood seeped from it's already present wounds, and Hinata seemed to notice a gaseous form seeping from the cuts.

"Get away, be careful!" Nanami shouted towards Hinata. "It has poisonous blood, don't breathe it in!" Hinata glanced around, seeing fighters in the thick of the gas dropping suddenly, and twitching strangely. Great, more things to make the fight even more dangerous. He rolled away from the already present wounds, hoping to avoid the deadly blood.

But Hinata didn't notice he rolled directly to the side of the astoundingly tremendous being, right in the line of it's swinging tail. Hinata was bashed to the side, and smashed into the ground.

He panicked. His head was underwater, and he was unable to breathe, but he felt as though his ribs were cracked, and he couldn't move or a lightning flash of extreme overwhelming agony zapped through his system like electricity. Was he doomed to drown? Wait, he remembered his health potions! Thank all things good and glorious they went and bought them. With every ounce of effort he had left in his system, he braced for the pain and forced his head over the surface, popped the cork and chugged the red liquid down into his body. He gasped. Immediately, the pain was smoothened over. It was a small potion, so it didn't entirely fix everything, but he could now stand, and therefore avoid drowning to death, which to be fair is all he really cared about doing right now.

"Hinata-kun, give me your sword… please." Nanami wa standing over him. He was reluctant, but he couldn't fight in this condition, so she would do better with it. "Do you have a plan or something?" He asked, forking over the blade.

"Yeah… I think." She turned to the beast, with it's attention turned to the warriors slashing at it's legs. "Thank you…" She turned, and ran back into the fray. He could only watch for now, and by god did he hope she was going to be successful in whatever sort of strange plan she had conjured.

Nanami made haste, heading straight for the archers, who were running startlingly low on arrows. "I have a plan everyone… but… I need you all to keep its attention away from the people around it.

The person leading the archers shrugged. "It's likely our only hope now." She thanked him as he gave new orders to shoot as firmly as possible, to make the archers seem like the main threat. As she made her way around the gargantuan being, it looked as though it worked. Tons of hoes were punctured in the beast's skin from the ongoing arrow storm above, and it seemed to notice.

Its olive blood seeped from the wounds, fizzing into it's deadly gas form, as the furious beast headed towards the ranged weapon uses. With attention away from the ground units, it stopped moving it's massive crushing tail, and thus Nanami approached it.

The beast bent its long snakelike neck, singular long fin rifling in the wind, and striked forward, biting down on a handful of archers, and swallowing them whole, still alive and screaming in horror. Nanami closed her eyes, and silently thanked them for their sacrifice. Then, without further hesitation, grabbed onto the beast's tail. It was tough to grip due to it being film-like and wet, but smooth scales were present, and possible to grip tightly. Being tough scales as well, the creature didn't seem to notice her intrusion on it's tail, and commenced taking out the rows of people before it.

She made her way swiftly up it's tail and along it's back, which is when it did in fact notice her. It tried to shake her off, which she responded to by casting an explosion on it's back, making it bellow loudly.

"No shaking, no explosions… deal?" She muttered, concentrating on staying on the creature's surface. Finally, she reached it's neck, where it's skin seemed significantly more soft and tender than it's scaled locations. She heated up Hinata's blade with fire, and prepared herself.

At the same time, The beast striked forward yet again, this nab containing Komaeda as well. His side was easily punctured by a fang like a hot knife through butter, and he cried out, while the beast prepared to swallow the victims in it's mouth. Komaeda began to slide down its gullet.

At that, Nanami hesitated no more, and swung with all the might she could muster to sever the being's neck. A shattering roar exploded through the air, and everyone shuddered and cringed, covering their ears, and… then silence. The head was cut clean off, and Nanami stepped back, avoiding the shower of poisonous blood seeping from the huge fatal wound. She leapt from the body, which crashed down making a humongous splash. All the survivors cheered in success and victory.

They would live! Hinata was astounded. Komaeda and a few other almost-to-be victims crawled out of the massive corpse's gaping maw. Nanami ran over and revealed some bandages from her satchel, and began wrapping up Komaeda's side wound from the huge bestial fangs. Each and every one of them would survive another day! Now, they simply needed a way out of here.

Hinata turned to the Terramancer, who would surely be running for his life. But he wasn't, nor was he even afraid or impressed. He still had… a cocky grin on his face. Wha…?

The decapitated beast seemed to start bleeding more and more. Toxic blood spewed in great amounts into the water. The flesh in the wound seemed to… move. It shuffled and squirmed. Hinata gasped in absolute horror and shock at the sight, as they emerged. Three more heads ruffled fresh out of the severed neck stump, coated in poison blood and dripping everywhere, All three roared again triumphantly, announcing that the battle was not over.

"This beast… is actually a hydra…" Nanami spoke in a blend of pure awe and terror.

This was not good.

Nanami grabbed Komaeda, as he was surprisingly light, and made haste across the field to Hinata. "We can't fight this… it's only stronger now, and there's so little of us left… I think." Nanami was completely right. This was outrageous. A hydra, of all things?

With very little left to devour, the hydra turned it's attention to the gathered group of 3, while its other heads bit and chomped down on anyone else nearby it.

"We need to get out of here… and now." Hinata downed his other health vial, while Komaeda did the same with one of his, his wound slightly closing, and bleeding no more.

"Mmm. Can you two move…?" Nanami asked with a tinge of urgency in her voice, as she watched the approaching beast.

"Yeah, I think I can run now…" Hinata commented, twisting his torso as if to test his condition. "I may be fine as well." Komaeda poked tentatively at the bloody rags on his side.

Nanami huffed impatiently. The hydra was approaching, as it's other heads were no longer holding back it's movements. "I don't want to risk it… I think." She closed her eyes softly, and summoned a small wisp of a flame of magic, and it headed towards Hinata and Komaeda. "Whoa, hey, what are you doing?" Wondered Hinata cautiously, thinking he was about to be burned.

"It's… not fire magic. I know a simple healing spell too… probably. I'd be a terrible traveling mage if I didn't have at least one..." She focused, and the bright flames twisted around them, bringing a feeling of relief and freedom from pain. Nanami sighed, exhausted, reached into a satchel swiftly, and revealed a larger potion that was a deep azure blue, popped the cap and drank deeply.

Hinata guessed it would restore her magical energy. She was probably getting low on magical power after all this.

"It's approaching, what should we do?!" Hinata warned his teammates. At that, Nanami spun around, pink threads of curled hair bobbing around, and launched another explosion, which didn't altogether harm the hydra, but certainly threw it off balance and slowed it down. That, and made it angrier.

"I have just enough magic… I think…" Nanami began preparing another spell immediately. This one looked like it needed time to charge up, however.

"Please… you two, distract it…" She handed over Hinata's blade back it's owner, and Komaeda prepared an arrow.

"I don't think you can do anything, Hinata-kun", Komaeda sighed, "The poisonous gas is completely forming a layer around the pond nearby it, you couldn't possibly get near it and survive.

Hinata grit his teeth. Was he really so useless in this situation? The arrows flew, stabbing deep into the hydra's new necks, causing more vile fluid to seep out. However, not deep enough to do any real damage. The hydra snapped and bit, attempting to bite down on the arrows as they came. This would slow it down for a bit, with hope. The thing roared with anger, and once again it's massive claws moved, and dragged the beast closer to the trio. They were running low on time.

Hinata turned to Nanami, who had swift embers weave around her arms, pouring like soup into an orb of energy. What was she going to do, when the hydra barely took any damage or distraction from the explosions previously released?

Time was ticking. There was only so much Komaeda could do alone to distract such a huge beast. Besides, it was swift to realize where the threat originated from, and was closing in on him.

"I… I'm ready. Get Komaeda over here too, Hinata-kun… and hurry." Nanami whispered, struggling to contain the flaming energy ball.

"Ah! You both don't need to save me, I'd gladly die if you two get to escape-" Hinata grabbed Komaeda's arm, blocking out his objections.

"What now, Nanami?" hinata shouted over the hydra's roar. It was only a few meters from them now.

"Grab onto me… I think." Especially now, why can't she be more sure of her answers?

Hinata gingerly took of her arm, unsure of the action as it was a little awkward. He didn't exactly go around grabbing people's limbs normally. It was a little weird.

"You're… going to want to hold on stronger than that." With that, Hinata took her word for it. and held as if his life depended on it. And in a situation like this one, it wasn't an exaggeration to say it probably did.

The hydra was definitely within range now. It's heads reeled back to strike. If they lingered for much longer, they'd be devoured in seconds.

"Uhh… Nanami? Can you do whatever you're doing soon, plea-"

BOOM

The orb of energy ignited, and a wave of exhausting heat overtook the three of them. Nanami tossed the orb to the floor, and it burst in a massive explosion creating a huge splash in the water, and thus launching the three people in the center of the combustion. Hinata coughed and choked on the smoke, before he realized the three of them were airborne, and panicked before realizing they had been successfully launched over the stone walls. "We… we did it!" He cheered, before he saw the rapidly approaching forest floor.

SLAM. Hinata landed on his side at an awkward angle, while Komaeda somehow landed luckily in a soft bush. Hinata scowled at his luck, and glanced around for Nanami.

PLOP. An object from the sky slammed into Hinata, knocking him back down. Said object laughed lightly a tad, and got up. "Sorry, Hinata-kun."

"Ughhh. There you are, Nanami…" He groaned. Not that it mattered, they had escaped, after all. Perhaps they would live another day after all.

Hinata stood, and brushed dirt and several small sticks off of himself, as the others got up behind him.

"Darn… I was looking forward to that terramancer's payout… I think." Nanami sighed, wearing an expression of disappointment.

"There's not much we can do about that, though, unless you want to go back and find him." Hinata shrugged. It wasn't likely they would find the mage that had tricked them. Who knows where he could be? In fact, Hinata wondered… where were they now, in the first place? He shivered.

"Uh… anyone have any clue how to get out of this forest…?" Sadly, Hinata was responded with pessimistic frowns and head shakes. Great.

"I guess… we'll just walk, and see where we end up…" Nanami's plan wasn't exactly solid, but what choice did they have? Komaeda looked stern. "We had best be careful, too, Hinata-kun. We could easily come across another troll, and this time with just the three of us, we might not be so successful. And also, I won't be of much more use for now on in fighting, since I'm running out of arrows… not that I wasn't useless to begin with! Ahaha!" Komaeda giggled, taking strange enjoyment in putting himself down.

Nanami tilted her head to the side. "But Komaeda-kun, what makes you say that? You've been a decent archer so far, and you've helped out a lot… probably." She yawned sleepily.

Hinata scowled. "Just ignore him, he always does that. But she's right, you know, Komaeda. You were a great help."

Komaeda looked to the ground. "If Hinata-kun says so."

Hinata rolled his eyes. "Hinata-kun does say so. Now grab your bow and remaining arrows, we have to get moving, alright?."

Komaeda nodded, and started walking with the other two. They had no clue as of where they were going, but they weren't about to get back to town by just standing here. Maybe if they're lucky they'd stumble upon the road, or some form of familiar landmark. Yet as they marched on, Hinata found himself unable to shake off a feeling weighing down on him as he carried on through the dense woods.

Nanami was the first to notice. "Ah… Hinata-kun, is something the matter? You seem… fidgety." Hinata sighed and came clean. "Yeah… it's just, that terramancer who lead us here, how dare he kill all those people without any care? Exploiting such a huge crowd just for their belongings like that, costing them their lives… it's just wrong, in every way possible."

Nanami nodded slowly, understandingly. "I know how you feel… I think. But logically, is there anything we can do about it? He's likely long gone… or in the pit gathering up valuables. He likely has some way to control the hydra so he doesn't get devoured himself… and we were lucky enough to escape, so it would be a bad idea to waste that luck and tempt fate again…"

Hinata sighed in a frustrated manner, but he knew she was right. There really wasn't much he could do like this. "It just… if it wasn't for you in the last second Nanami… when you severed the first head… I would have lost my best friend, you know."

Komaeda turned with a sudden look of surprise. "Best… friend?"

Hinata scratched the back of his head idly. "Well, that's kind of what we are, isn't it, Komaeda? We're teammates out here now, right?"

The white haired boy looked to the ground gingerly, looking awfully confused, yet with a sly smile he couldn't hide. "I never had a best friend before, Hinata-kun… and you surely deserve a better one than garbage like me…"

Hinata laughed. "Of course not, Komaeda. You're a better friend than anyone I've been around."

Komaeda looked hesitant. "Then… is it acceptable if I call you my best friend as well, Hinata-kun…?"

Hinata punched him softly on the shoulder playfully. "Of course, silly, that's what it means. We're the best team, trust me."

The pink-haired girl smiled at the two happily, as if enjoying watching the formed friendship between the pair. She laughed lightly as well. "The two of you certainly work well together… probably… I wish I could have friends like you two are to each other."

Komaeda grinned optimistically in response. "Well there's no issue with you joining our party, Nanami-san! That is, if Hinata-kun is alright with it."

She stepped back, looking startled. "Eh…? Permanently?"

At that, Hinata got flustered. "Well- it's fine if you don't want to of course-! It's just you said you didn't have any other goals, right-? Your magic skills would definitely be an asset to us. It's… it's just an offer…"

The pyromancer smiled, all look of shock from her face dissolving. "If you'll take me on your side… I'd love to… thank you, you two." She grinned kindly, looking proud to be a part of the group.

Hinata returned the smile. He was glad to have Nanami along with them on their quest. He brought his attention back to where they were walking, and to be quite honest, it didn't look any different from where they started. Due to the dense leaf coverage, Hinata couldn't tell if the sun was setting or not. He assumed it was getting late.

The forest only got darker as they proceeded, and once again, Nanami needed to conjure a levitating flame to lead them and light the path before the group. "I don't know… I think we're not going to get out before nightfall, Hinata-kun." Komaeda commented disdainfully, observing the sky in a rare hole in the thick canopy.

"Then we'd best find a place to set up camp…" Nanami yawned. For the past few hours of walking Hinata could have sworn she was sleepwalking.

They discovered a slight clearing in the large amount of trees, and decided upon settlement. Hinata bore his sword and sought out for firewood while the other two prepared the area for their overnight stay.

Nanami glanced up from creating a makeshift fireplace to see Hinata not only bearing firewood, but the body of a young boar. The sword-wielding brunette wore a confident grin on his face. "I found us dinner."

When the sticks were arranged, Nanami easily ignited a campfire, and Komaeda prepared some sort of spit to roast the boar meat on. It was tough and thick meat, and definitely a challenge to roast, but when it was done, all three ate heartily, especially after the battle with the hydra. Exhausted was an understatement for them.

"We wouldn't be alive now if it wasn't for you, Nanami-san." Komaeda grinned happily, and Nanami smiled modestly. "I believe… we all had a fair share of success. We needed all of our efforts… at least, that's what I think…" Hinata looked pleased at his new team member. Nanami wasn't a bad addition. Besides, it was a nice break from all the "I'm completely useless garbage" and "whatever Hinata-kun wants" sort of bullcrap he got delivered directly from Komaeda all the time.

"I guess so, after all- ooh!" Komaeda stumbled, tripping over a rock and falling quickly towards the roaring flame.

"Watch out, Komaeda!" Hinata burst into action, and shoved his friend out of the way, onto the dirt and away from scorching doom.

"Thank you, Hinata-kun, I- Ah, oh no!" Komaeda may have escaped falling into the flames, but his bow didn't. The dry white wood lit up like a christmas tree, and crumbled into ash before there was any hope of retrieving and saving the weapon. Komaeda and Hinata sighed collectively. Looks like they would be buying him yet another replacement bow when they got out of here.

Komaeda for one seemed almost not surprised, even. "That would be my luck… heheh…" he chuckled quietly. Hinata didn't quite understand the statement, but ignored it. He must've had a history of bad luck or something. It was more or less understandable, due to their adventures so far, but Hinata didn't really believe in luck, personally. He shrugged it off.

"It seemed... you seemed pretty fond of that bow" Nanami observed.

"Of course, Hinata-kun bought it for me... there's no way I could have gotten that myself. I really don't deserve such kindness...!" Komaeda laughed carefreely, while Hinata rolled his eyes and sighed. "Komaeda, we've already gone over this..."

The flame flickered and diminished slowly, until only a hazy thread of smoke lingered in the cool forest air. Nanami bore a small cinder to light the area while the group prepared to settle down for the night.

"Wait, so where are we sleeping?" Hinata inquired, puzzled. Komaeda grinned playfully at him and grabbed for a tree branch, hoisting himself upwards. Hinata narrowed his eyes in disdain. "Not in trees again..."

Much to Hinata's reluctance and whining (and there *was* a lot of whining) it appeared there was no better alternative. With woods like these it was far too dangerous to sleep on the ground after all. Especially in troll season. The hydra was enough excitement for one day. After a few additional grumbles, Hinata scampered up a tree that looked at least slightly comfortable, and while the final cinders of the flame died down, he fell asleep.


End file.
